Keeping track of things in S5

[beeiilll]

Sorry if this has been discussed before (I can't seem to find anything though)!

I have been out of this since 2014 and am jumping back in this year now that I am "officially" retired and have more time than money on my hands! 

I never got into using S4 at all and my last sequencing was with the S3 version so I have some catching up as well as learning the new stuff for sure.

I have my old sequences that are from 272 to 288 channels (all AC) to bring over to S5 as well as another 32 channels of AC and 32 channels of DC controllers to use if I need to!  My sequences to date are all 1 track!

Needless to say, it can be a bit of a challenge to go through and change or even check stuff.  With the new S5 and the thought of adding pixels which can easily add hundreds if not thousands of channels to the mix, I want to ask if there are any new ways to make things easier to help keep track of things on a sequencing level?  I am starting to read up on Props and their uses now but still can see where with all the channels I have now (96 just for the mega tree with 3 for the star, unless I add the 32 channels that I have for spiral LEDs on the tree), I am going to have some time bringing it all into S5 and keep it straight!

I have 140+ blow molds along with inflatables, arches, spinners, bells, and such and thought that I remember some years ago that folks used tracks to separate some of the display items into "groups" if you will?  I could certainly be wrong but am looking for suggestions as to how to organize the items that I use as well as I change up my display layout every year or two to keep it interesting.  With pixels coming in I can see where things may get pretty daunting fairly quickly if I am not paying attention. 

So are there any common ways that you organize your channels or layouts with S5 in mind?  I certainly could use some input if someone has a minute or two to spare and let me know.

Bill

[dougd]

Views, are sort of like tracks in S5. There is a drop down above all the props in S5. CLick on that and choose add a view. After that select the props you want to add to that view. You can then re-arrange how you want them to look in that view. Hopefully that helps.

[Little_b]

It's not as bad as you think. You can create groups for props to help keep the Grid List (Track) shorter.  I have about 210 channels of AC and Dumb DC Channels and it's not too bad.  I put my Mega Tree into 3 groups, one for each color, and only open them when sequencing the tree.  Same goes for my arches.  Now don't get to worried about adding pixel channels in the mix.  You don't have to have all the pixel channels listed to scroll through, just the prop itself.  I have a matrix that has 7938 pixels and 23,814 channels, but it is only listed in the Grid View as Matrix with 2 motion effect lines.  The same goes for each of my Pixel Props.

One of the best things I like about S5 is the new preview.  You only have to set up the props and channel assignments in one place, then use the same Preview for every sequence.  If you have to change a channel setting, you only have to do it once in the Preview Design, and not have to go back through every sequence, find the channel, and hope you didn't miss one.  The initial Preview Design Set Up may take some time, but like I said, then you use it for all your sequences.  I like to switch mine up a little each year as well.  All I do is copy the Preview from the year before, rename it for the new year and make the adjustments I need.  This way I don't have to change ALL the props, because some just don't change from year to year.

 

[beeiilll]

Outstanding!  Thanks for sharing this.  I have "seen" these things in S5 but am still drawing up all my parts into the program first so should have that done fairly soon.  Then I can start working on learning all the little things that make it "do the magic"!